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Austin has a thriving business community. That in itself is a great thing, but it’s even better knowing that our local businesses are forces for good in our community. In addition to the services, products and employment they offer, they also provide nonprofits with donations and employee volunteer hours that help fulfill a variety of missions, from education and human services to environmental and animal welfare causes.

Austin has a thriving business community. That in itself is a great thing, but it’s even better knowing that our local businesses are forces for good in our community. In addition to the services, products and employment they offer, they also provide nonprofits with donations and employee volunteer hours that help fulfill a variety of missions, from education and human services to environmental and animal welfare causes.

That’s why I encourage you to help us quantify this support by participating in the Survey of Corporate Giving in Central Texas. For the past four years, it has helped us tell the story of what ways, and to which types of causes, Central Texas businesses are contributing.

It takes just a few minutes to complete the anonymous survey – and you will be signed up to receive a free digital copy of the 2019 Rodman Report when it is published in April.

Thank you for taking the time to tell us how your business makes an impact through philanthropy.

A rising trend among corporations today is to engage in skill-based volunteering. This model has long been used on a smaller scale with graduate students who serve as interns or fellows. The students come to the nonprofit with a designated project and spend a semester or more addressing it. The students are chosen because their skill set matches the nonprofit need.

Now corporate philanthropy is taking this idea to a larger level, aiming to create long lasting and potentially transformational partnerships while giving nonprofits the potential to have sophisticated infrastructure otherwise unavailable with their limited staff and budget restraints. This is not just pro bono volunteering, but customized volunteering.

A few successful examples include:

Employees of Adobe, Inc. pairing with young writers to create unique and compelling cover designs for their manuscripts,

Toyota employees in San Antonio pulling from their assembly line experience to identify efficiencies and maximize the flow of donated food items to the floor for a local food bank,

Des Moines’ annual DSMhack bringing together skilled volunteers from across the IT spectrum, creating new websites, mapping tools and even a nutrition calculator for worthy nonprofits–all in one fast paced weekend!

In order to work the process must start with a nonprofit’s needs, then match those needs with a corporate partner having a focus and skill set that meets them. Additionally, the nonprofit must have the staff and capacity to invest in guiding and supervising the process, which can prove challenging.

Sometimes referred to as ‘The Knitting Factor’, skill-based volunteering is designed with a focus on long term training, long term connection and long-term effect. With 75% of corporations incorporating employee citizenship activities into their model and since, from the corporate perspective, skills-based volunteering has been found to enhance employee skills and talents, improve retention, and is attractive to millennials, this idea is likely to grow!

“Austin businesses continue to fine-tune their philanthropy, with most having a philanthropy budget that increased from the previous year, according to the 2018 Rodman Report, an annual survey of business-giving in Central Texas.”

“For the last four years, Rodman & Associates has conducted a survey analyzing corporate giving in Central Texas. The 2018 Rodman Report showed that 68 percent of companies surveyed have philanthropic or giving budgets. Among that group, 61 percent saw their budget increase from 2017 to 2018.”

AUSTIN, Texas—Does your Central Texas company have a philanthropic/giving budget? How do you engage your employees in philanthropy? And which causes is your organization most likely to support?

An annual survey of companies in Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown and the surrounding Central Texas area poses these and other questions to provide insights on how local organizations engage in philanthropy. The online Survey of Corporate Giving, open now through February 10, is free and anonymous – with the results published in the yearly Rodman Report

New data from the 2018 survey will be compared to previous findings, illustrating trends in local corporate giving and employee engagement.

Among the findings from last year’s Rodman Report:

Who spearheads giving: Last year’s study found that philanthropic/giving efforts are most often spearheaded by ownership (43 percent) or directors/executives (24 percent).

What they donate: Monetary donations led the list, but there are other significant ways that companies contribute. Many companies allow their employees to take volunteer hours (73 percent) as a way to support nonprofits.

Certain causes generate the most support: Most companies cited education (70 percent), human services (58 percent) and health and wellness (55 percent) as the types of causes they support.

Every year, the survey asks new questions and widens the scope of the Rodman Report, which was first published in 2015.

In an email message to area business leaders last year inviting them to participate in the survey, Austin Mayor Steve Adler wrote that “we need your help to continue measuring and communicating” how local organizations are charitable force for good.

“Please help us grow this study as it continues to be an enlightening measurement for businesses, nonprofits, community leaders, and all of us as charitable givers,” Adler wrote.

The 10-minute survey is hosted on SurveyMonkey.com and is available at bit.ly/2018RodmanSurvey. Those who take the survey and opt-in to receive a digital copy of the Rodman Report will have an opportunity to get a first look at the survey results.

The Survey of Corporate Giving and the Rodman Report were created by Austin’s Rodman & Associates.

So what’s going on? Could this be the death knell for Cause Marketing?

At Rodman & Associates, we think not. Companies–and their consumers–have become more sophisticated, and they are demanding more from Cause Marketing campaigns. The evolving trend is for corporations to define and create a unique program that reflects the core DNA of the business itself.

H&R Block’s Budget Challenge, a free teen financial literacy program in the form of an online game, and

Dove’s Real Beauty campaign using real women in all shapes and sizes.

These innovative examples of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) invite consumers to be the change. They add to the national conversation. And they allow the company to “Own” the issue. All making for a stunning transition in CSR!

A March 14 article in the Austin American-Statesman touts the results of the Rodman Report, providing a rundown of its key findings and gaining insight from two businesses that participated in the Survey of Corporate Giving.

In “Survey says Austin businesses give more than ever,” Monica Williams wrote: “Business philanthropy continues to grow in Austin, with more local companies giving to nonprofits and increasing their philanthropic budgets, according to an annual survey by Rodman and Associates, a local philanthropic advisor.”

Williams interviewed Steve Simmons, business development director for Amy’s Ice Creams, and Greg Pierce, owner and founder of Zuma Office Supply. Both companies were represented in the survey, and both Simmons and Pierce discussed how the ways that they support local charities and engage their employees in those efforts.

The Rodman Report covers many different metrics of corporate giving in Central Texas. A few of the key insights include:

Who spearheads giving. To find the decision-makers, start at the top of a company’s flowchart. In 44 percent of companies, owners or executives drive philanthropic efforts. In most other cases, efforts are led by directors/executives (17 percent), marketing/public relations (14 percent) or are employee-driven (12 percent).

What they donate. Monetary donations (80 percent) still lead the list, but there are other significant ways that companies contribute. Many companies allow their employees to take volunteer hours (73 percent) as a way to support nonprofits.

The causes they support. For the third year in a row, companies were most likely to cite education (70 percent), human services (58 percent) and health and wellness (55) percent as the types of causes they support.

The study is endorsed by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who provided an invitation message to business owners encouraging them to participate in the survey. Austin City Council Member Alison Alter, who is also a philanthropic adviser, supports the initiative, as well.

“Austinites are proud of our philanthropy, and it’s only natural that we expect our culture of giving to be reflected in the choices made by businesses throughout the year,” Alter said. “We want to know that the companies doing business here and their leaders care about the health and vibrancy of our community. I’m pleased to say that I believe the results in the Rodman Report bear this out.”

Alter noted that nearly all of the companies surveyed said they give back in some way, and a majority of them have a giving budget that grew over the last year.

“That’s good news for the causes supported through monetary donations, volunteering or other means. And it is good news for all of us in Austin who believe that a spirit of giving and good corporate citizenry go hand-in-hand,” Alter said. “I hope that this data and the conversation it sparks will inspire more businesses to invest in our community and their employees through active philanthropic programs.”

How do Central Texas companies give to charity, in what ways do they engage their employees in philanthropy, and which causes do they support? The 2017 Survey of Corporate Giving is complete, and our new infographic highlights just a few of the findings, such as:

Who spearheads giving: To find the decision-makers, start at the top of a company’s flowchart.

What they donate: Monetary donations still lead the list, but there are other significant ways that companies contribute.

The causes they support: Nonprofits focused on education, human services, and health & wellness are most likely to get companies’ support.

Central Texas Companies: Philanthropy by the Numbers illustrates these and other key metrics. We invite you to share the infographic with colleagues and employees by posting it to your website or blog, and/or including it in employee newsletters and other communications. For questions or assistance with using this infographic, email scott@pattersonhughes.com.

The full Rodman Report will be available for download the week of March 6. Make sure to visit RodmanReport.com at that time to get your digital copy!

Austin is a vibrant, thriving city comprised of people who put their caring into action by enthusiastically supporting charities and nonprofits. I’m proud to say that our business community reflects these values, with results from last year’s Survey of Corporate Giving in Central Texas showing that most local companies have a philanthropic/giving budget, and the majority of those budgets increased from the previous year.

The Survey of Corporate Giving is an annual project, and we need your help to continue measuring and communicating how businesses in Austin are a charitable force for good. This year’s survey takes 10 minutes to complete, the results are anonymous, and the findings will be published in the 2017 Rodman Report.

What has changed since last year? What new trends will we discover? The 2016 Rodman Report revealed, for example, that 77 percent of companies engage employees through group volunteering – a great way to increase employee morale.

Once again, I would like to thank Austin Gives™, a program of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, for partnering in the effort to share the Survey of Corporate Giving with local companies. Please help us grow this study as it continues to be an enlightening measurement for businesses, nonprofits, community leaders, and all of us as charitable givers. By taking the survey today, you will be signed up to receive a free digital copy of the 2017 Rodman Report when it is published in March.

Let’s keep proudly telling the world how businesses in Austin and our surrounding community are giving back. Thank you for taking the time to participate in the Survey of Corporate Giving.

Local businesses urged to provide feedback on corporate philanthropy for 2017 Rodman Report

AUSTIN, Texas—How much do companies in Austin and the surrounding Central Texas area give back to the community, and which causes do they support? In January, the Survey of Corporate Giving will pose these and other philanthropic questions to Central Texas businesses.

Results of the free, anonymous survey are published annually in the Rodman Report, providing a quantified look at Central Texas corporate giving. New data from the 2017 survey will be compared to previous findings, illustrating trends in local corporate giving and employee engagement.

Among the findings from last year’s Rodman Report:

Eighty six percent of companies reported volunteer hours as one of their methods of giving, and more than three-quarters (77 percent) of companies surveyed engage their employees through group volunteering.

Philanthropic giving efforts are most often spearheaded by ownership (43 percent) or directors/executives (24 percent).

The types of organizations that companies were most likely to support are those involved in education (81 percent), human services (78 percent) and health and wellness (62) percent.

This year’s survey will also ask new questions and widen the scope of the Rodman Report, which was first published in 2015. Conducted by locally based Rodman & Associates, the survey is presented in partnership with Austin Gives, a program of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and is endorsed by Austin Mayor Steve Adler.

Last year, Mayor Adler wrote to local business that their input is needed “to make this survey a useful tool for all of us – business owners, community leaders and charitable givers.”

“Austin has a vibrant business community with a history of giving back,” Adler wrote. “Thank you for taking the time to tell us how your organization makes an impact through philanthropy.”

The 10-minute survey will be available in January at RodmanReport.com. Those who take the survey and opt-in to receive a digital copy of the Rodman Report will have an opportunity to get a first look at the survey results.

Rodman & Associates was founded by Lisa Rodman, a 20-year veteran of the nonprofit arena. She advises and supports individuals, businesses and foundations on philanthropic initiatives and partnerships.